1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imprint apparatus, an imprint method, and an article manufacturing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A photocuring type nonimprint lithography method (“UV-NIL method” hereinafter) presses a transparent mold having a pattern against an uncured ultraviolet (“UV”) curing resin on a substrate, irradiates the UV through the mold, cures the UV curing resin, and releases the mold. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. (“JP”) 2005-153091 (FIG. 9, paragraph no. 0067) proposes a nanoimprint apparatus that uses the UV-NIL method, arranges an alignment unit, a press unit, a release unit, etc. around a conveyance unit, and improves the throughput through simultaneous processing using a plurality of units. Both pressing and photocuring are performed in the press unit.
In order to simultaneously transfer a mold pattern on the whole surface of the substrate, it is necessary to an optical path used to irradiate the UV onto the whole surface of the substrate. Hence, it is known to use a mold larger than a substrate, to hold a region of the mold which does not overlap the substrate, and to provide an opening configured to transmit the UV to another region of the mold holder which overlaps the substrate. See JP 2006-15709.
However, JP 2005-153091 requires the press unit to house both the press mechanism and the UV irradiation mechanism, making complex the structure of the nanoimprint apparatus and degrading the maintainability. In addition, when the opening equal to or larger than the substrate is formed in the back surface of the mold as in JP 2006-15709, the mold, the mold holder, and the press mechanism become large and the cost increases. Moreover, it is difficult to form a pattern on a mold larger than a current silicon wafer having a diameter of 300 mm.